Store Bought Waxes Part II (No Zaino Posts)

bretfraz

First, don't use tire shines that have silicone in them. Silicone and rubber don't like each other and the tires look fake with all that gloss.

Here are my faves:

1. Pinnacle Vinyl & Rubber protectant. Best stuff I've ever used.

2. Eagle One Satin Finish tire shine. No silicone in it. Used to be called Concours tire dressing.

3. Black Again original formula. Nice and creamy lotion that gives your tires a natural, non-gloss look. Prolly the best product for your tires but they won't have that look that everyone likes.

fish8

Stoners Tire Shine is the best I've ever used. I think it is completely safe for tires.

txcarbuyer

Thanks for the comments, but I have more questions. . .

1)I found some Meguiar's Endurance Gel at Target, but does it have silicone in it?

2)Where can one purchase Pinnacle Vinyl & Rubber protectant? Eagle One Satin Finish? or Blac Again?

Thanks folks!

jster

Black Again--the old Black Again was a great product --then the company went out of business. Recently a new company bought the rights to the name and changed the formula--for the worse, I have heard.

Pinnacle Vinyl Protectant--great stuff--I bought a bottle a few months ago--it's the first dressing I've used on the interior vinyl that I have liked--no shiny look at all, and very little slipperiness (is that a word?). I'm sure it would look great on tires too--but it's a little pricey for that, IMHO.

A couple of other good products are 303 Aerospace Protectant, and Vinylex. Vinylex is available at Pep Boys, among other places. You can find a list of retailers for 303 at:

http://www.303products.com

Vinylex is a little bit shinier than 303--but they are very similar products.

jster

Pinnacle stuff is available at: http://www.properautocare.com

            or

http://www.tacscar.com

The Eagle One stuff shouldn't be to hard to find either online or retail.

britton2

You can also get it from autosupermart.com or carcrazy.net, don't know about ordering from these places as I have not done so - the other links mentioned above provide good customer service..

epr4evr

I've had excellent results using 3M appearance care products. There is alot of boating activity here and the pros use 3M fiberglass products. In fact, the first wax on my new car was some left over 3M #0930 marine ultra performance paste wax-very easy to use. Now my supplies include #39000 car wash soap and #39026 liquid which is a wax-not a silicone. There is also a silicone based wax. These are available at most auto parts stores.

checkme

I am moving to Southern California from Chicago. How should I protect my car from the sun? It is midnight blue, so I am concerned that it will fade if I do not protect it well.

I am willing to use any product that works best. I am even willing to use the "forbidden product", or a combination of any products, including, if necessary, the "forbidden product". I don't care about brands; I am only interested in performance.

Two addenda: My car is brand new. It has no scratch or swirl marks whatsoever (I had nothing to do with this, I simply got lucky- that's how it looked when I picked it up at the dealership). Therefore, only non-abrasive polishes and waxes will be used for a while.

Also, I am more interested in protection than in shine. If I can get shine without compromising protection, great, but protection is what really matters to me.

bretfraz

Just about any product will do the trick as long as it is used regularly. Use whatever you like to get the results you want.

A couple comments: I did the reverse move (So Cal to Chicago) in '93. I think you'll find the concerns of keeping your paint protected in the sun less severe than the protection needed in Chicago. I found conditions in Chicago much more abusive and damaging than in L.A. I owned a black car in So Cal for 3 years and drove it 100,000 miles with minor damage and no paint fade. One year (incl winter) in Chicago trashed the paint. Subsequent new cars also were very difficult to keep well-maintained by my So Cal detailer standards.

So Cal is the automotive capital of the world. I've travelled all over and there is no place even close if you are a car lover. Don't worry too much about paint fade. If you happen to have paint fading problems there are a million detail shops to help you.

joebob6

There are two versions...one with silicone and one without. The one without silicone is better for the tires, but the silicone one would probably last longer.

armtdm

alex18t

winter is much wose for your paint than summer. ide take socal weather to drive in over NYC winter in a heartbeat. the caked on salt and loose rocks on road from potholes, yuck... i hate winter. plus it makes washing your car something you absoluly dread rather than look foward to. and the dirty looks from your neighbors who think you are insane doesnt help much either

mrdetailer

Does anyone know about a synthetic reisin called TR3. This is really cheap. Is it any good?

mrdetailer

Does anyone know about a synthetic reisin called TR3. This is really cheap. Is it any good?

jster

Who makes it? Waht are the ingredients?

tmcc1

Had a red and white Dodge for 16 years.
I used TR3 on it. I had a 5th wheel and stored the tail gate in a shed. When selling the truck I put the tail gate on and was hard pressed to see any fading in the paint. Now have a 2001 car and am still using TR3.

hanniv

Just brought my new honda accord home and been reading the post on this site .All of the info is appreciated. However I have a question as to what you all have to suggest regarding the rocker panels on this car.The paint is what (i Think) we used to call a primer or dark grey/black color. I feel that putting any wax on this surface would cause a discoloration as the wax would lodge in the surface/ the dealer suggest using armor all but Im not real confident that this will work on surface . Any suggestions?

lake5

please help someone with no experience, and give me some suggestions for an easy to use wax that is best for clearcoats. thanks to all that provide info.

redsilverado

looks like no one wants to be helpful so i'll say one word for ya "Meguiars". but if ya really want to make your ride glow, go with "Zaino". if you email me, i'll provide the info you need to get started.

jster

Lotta good choices out there---you heard about two good product lines--and there are quite a few others. What are your priorities? Long lasting protection? Nice shine? No stain on vinyl? Easy to apply? Looking for something you can buy in a local auto parts store or Pep Boys or are you willing to buy over the internet or mail order?

What kind of shape is the paint in? What color is it?

Let us know--and I'm sure there will be more than a few "big mouths" (such as myself) willing to make a recommendation.

jster

How about giving the people in this forum more than an hour to respond to a post, before you badmouth them as looking "like no one wants to be helpful".

Pretty unfair on a Saturday afternoon in June when people are unlikely to be to be glued to a computer because they have a life...or a job... or just want to enjoy the summer weather while it lasts (it ain't California everywhere, you know).

redsilverado

didn't even notice that it was the same day. who's been badmouthed? i've asked questions here and everyone has been more than helpful, so instead of us squabbling about this, let's just give Lake the help he needs.
-
Lake-another good product is the carnuba by Mothers. i've emailed the info to you, so let me know.

redsilverado

ever spend the better part of a day washing,waxing, and detailing your pride and joy, only to end up with some gardner or whoever with a yard blower mess it up? there's got to be a way to outlaw such devices, they don't do anything other than move dirt from point A to point B, and usually point C(your vehicle) gets more than it's share. i did this one saturday morning and went to the mall in the afternoon. came out and the gardner was blowing away, saw me and proceded to give my truck a free [non-permissible content removed], like it was OK. whatever happened to using a broom?

jster

It is a constant problem in this neck of the woods. They use a ton of sand on the roads, and then in the early spring people use blowers to blow it off their driveway. It gets like a sandstorm. But what can you do? I guess the only answer is to build a garage and wire up a bunch of fluroescent lights so I can do most of the work inside.

adc100

For what it's worth.... I waxed half of my Toyota's hood with Meguiars #28 yellow and the other half with the Meguiar Medallion Premium Paint Protectant. After 7 weeks, the #28 appears to be beading a little better than the Medallion. Supposedly the Medallion is supposed to offer better protection-according to Meguiars.

armtdm

I think you mean # 26 not 28. My experience with 26 is that it does not last long, maybe a month???? Looks good though!

britton2

is this a brand new car? I'd recommend a carnauba wax like Meguiar's or Mothers - be sure to get the regular wax and not the "cleaner wax" because if your car's new I don't think you'd need something with abrasives or cleaners in it - I like the Mother's brand and you can find them at Pep Boys and other auto parts stores - whatever you decide to use, just make sure the container says "clearcoat safe"

adc100

I did mean the #26. Now this was the liquid and I have since gotten the paste. Little harder to use but I've heard it lasts a bit longer. It (the #26 still beads)- actually it is 6 weeks now. Weren't you comparing a couple of brands- I forget which ones??

britton2- the #26 (Meguiars) is the highest in carnuba-I believe. I also like Meguiars because they have a large product line and I am still a newbie at using what I consider higher end stuff. Once I get some experience with their products, maybe I'll jump around.

Thanks
Al

britton2

I did not know that about the Meguiar's having more carnauba - I do use their Gold Class shampoo and recommend it highly - but I have yet to see their #26 in paste form at any of the stores I've been to - only in the bottle - I did find the Mother's in paste form so I went with that...it seems to be pretty good IMO

adc100

that Meguiars has more carnuba than other brands. No one really knows how much carnuba (also there are different grades of the stuff as I understand) each brand has (at least I don't). BTW my local NAPA store has the paste #26.

britton2

Thanks - that's one store I did not go to (yet) will have to check out NAPA!

checkme

My sister-in-law has an orbital buffer. Has anyone any experience with them?

I use non-abrasive carnuba waxes (Mother's). They take forever to apply by hand. I am interested in using the orbital buffer to save time. However, I am concerned about the possiblity of swirl marks. Is there any way to prevent them when using an orbital buffer?

checkme

I have a brand-new, dark blue car. I live in southern California. I use carnuba waxes.

How often should I wax the car? I plan on doing it monthly, but I am willing to do it more often if necessary. My car spends most of its time outside.

rayfbaird

Is it a Random one? If you have a straight orbital buffer it should be used only by professionals. New users should use only a random elliptical buffer that doesn't use the same circle all the time.

Go to Sears,and get a random one. It is much faster than hand. Cleaners and glazes always better. Liquids are easier on a machine to apply. Manufacturer's love liquids because they consume more.

I use liquids for surface pep, and the first coat. However Meguiar's #26 yellow paste keeps the finish up better when applied to horizontal surfaces. This is Meguiar's recommendation for cars that are outside all the time.

rayfbaird

Mine is outside, rain, snow, shine. Meguiar's recommended every 6 weeks. I wax then 2 weeks later put another layer on the Horizontal surfaces with a paste wax.

However, since I can't wax in the snow I put at least 3 times with 2 week intervals in late fall. You might want to do the same before the rainy season unless you have a carport or garage.

bretfraz

I posted some info on them right here a month or so ago. Scroll back thru some posts. You'll learn everything you ever wanted to learn about buffers.

redsilverado

there are those who can do it, and the ones who want to do it. nothing you read is going to make you a pro with a wheel. handson experience is what it takes to learn this art. if you have access to old cars then you have a nothing to gain but experience when practicing on older cars. if you really want to learn the art of the wheel, take a good size piece of black plexiglas and go for it. taught many a kid this art, and when they could wet sand the plastic and bring back the finish without swirls, they went on to making some dough on the side as well as having one of the best car finishes in town.

cornhusker99

I was wondering if someone can comment on how important it is to try to match the brand of the car wash with the brand of the wax/polish used. In other words, if I use Mother's brand wax/polish, do I necessarily need Mother's brand car wash? Pros and cons?

Thanks in advance

britton2

hmmm - that's really a good question - I'm just a novice at washing/waxing and stuff - but my guess would be that sticking with the same brand would not be necessary - I use a different brand of wash than wax and also a different brand of quick detailer as well - and I think I get really good results - I'd like to know what others think though...

redsilverado

i've used (the Z word), and meguiars quick detailer with the same results as if i used ( Z word again) stuff. i've gone back to good ol carnuba(mothers and meguiars) and found that as long as car wash is formulated for either, it makes no difference.

adc100

What can be used on the plastic headlight covers. I'm leary of using the RainX. It would seem that a wax would be OK? I would like something on because of the bugs.

Thanks

jster

Wax/sealant is usually fine. If you want to get specialized you can use Meguiars #10 (blue bottle) or Plexus.

adc100

I do have the #10 which I was using in combination to get the scratches out of my plastic eye glasses. I'll try the #10.

lonestarsled

Just found this forum on Edmunds and what a relief! I was getting a big kick reviewing the forum for....well let's say.....for "Z-zombies."

There is alot of diverse information here and I enjoy reading the thoughts of others. I am just going to toss out a general question here. Has anybody used the 3M 39526 Paste Wax, or for that matter is anybody even aware that it exists? For more info you can visit:

http://www.3m.com/market/automotive/newsletter/winter98pg1.html

pjyoung

TEll ya what...use what you like and we'll use what we like, and keep your non car care comments to yourself. Okay?

redsilverado

what did lonestar say that was so wrong? maybe i missed something, but it looked more like he was putting the "Z" stuff down.

lonestarsled

Wow....you lost me there! It sounds that you somehow got offended for some reason. But never the less, I do enjoy reading the thoughts of others.

redsilverado

there's always a topic ruler, so don't worry about it. i've used almost all the 3M products including the one you listed. although not on cars, but on corian and avonite, which are solid surface materials. the 3M products give great results, but don't seem to handle the weather that well.

pjyoung

Z-Zombies? Is that a term of endearment?

lonestarsled

Thanks for the info. I was just reading through some posts and though off topic (hope I don't offend any gardeners here) but I agree with you about the yard blowers. Point A being someones yard and point B the middle of the street. Only thing accomplished is air/noise pollution. There should be a fine!

On topic. Did the corian and avonite have an acrylic based clear coat applied to their surface? The 3M 39526 is made to adhere to acrylic single or dual stage paint. Don't know about other surfaces.